N.H. CALM withdraws as intervener in motorcyle noise suit

Thursday

May 26, 2011 at 2:00 AM

NORTH HAMPTON — New Hampshire Citizens Against Loud Motorcycles has withdrawn as an intervener in the case brought by Seacoast Motorcycles Inc., a Harley-Davidson dealership on Route 1, against the town over a controversial motorcycle noise ordinance.

Shir Haberman

NORTH HAMPTON — New Hampshire Citizens Against Loud Motorcycles has withdrawn as an intervener in the case brought by Seacoast Motorcycles Inc., a Harley-Davidson dealership on Route 1, against the town over a controversial motorcycle noise ordinance.

The motion to end its involvement in the case gave no details as to the reason, but Robert Shaines, N.H. CALM's attorney, indicated the group felt being involved in this case was not the best way to work toward curtailing loud motorcycles in the area.

"(The group) gave up on the court system," Shaines said Wednesday. "They realized (limiting motorcycle noise) has to be done at the legislative level."

The Seacoast Motorcycles suit, filed in Rockingham Superior Court last July, asks for a permanent injunction against enforcement of a noise ordinance passed by North Hampton voters almost 2-1 in May 2010. The ordinance requires all motorcycles operated or parked in town have a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency label on their mufflers indicating they produce sounds of no more than 80 decibels when operated normally.

Following passage of the ordinance, Police Chief Brian Page notified the Select Board that he would not instruct his officers to enforce it because of the legal issues it raised. Page contended that, because the Legislature had passed a law setting the top noise range for a motorcycle at 106 decibels, he and his officers could face legal action if they issued tickets based on the town ordinance.

Subsequent legal opinions from the Local Government Group, town attorneys Upton & Hatfield, and Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams supported Page's contention. EPA attorneys also confirmed the federal standard cannot be used to circumvent state law.

N.H. CALM joined the suit on the side of the town and immediately attempted to move the case to federal court to invoke the EPA standard. However, this past Feb. 4, a federal judge sent the case back to Superior Court along with an order that the group pay legal fees Seacoast Motorcycles incurred in the attempt to bring the case to federal court. That amount was subsequently determined to be approximately $8,800.

Shaines said Wednesday the real reason the federal suit was rejected was because town officials did not agree to it.

"The officialdom of the town obviously did not support (N.H. CALM's claims)," he said.

The Select Board indicated it will wait until the conclusion of the case to determine whether the new ordinance should be enforced. As the motorcycle season gets under way, area police continue to enforce the legislative decibel and inspection requirements as a way of limiting noise.

N.H. CALM's counterpart in Maine, MECALM, indicated in its May bulletin that a legislative attempt to put the EPA standard into that state's laws had also failed.

"The noise task force had rejected that idea and Maine State Police Lt. Brian Scott, who chaired the task force, told the committee those labels are either missing or hard to locate on many mufflers, making it an impractical enforcement tool," the bulletin read."MECALM still believes the labels could become part of the solution in the future, perhaps following the example of California, which will require them only on new bikes starting in the 2013 model year."

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